Microbial community in packed bed bioreactor involved in nitrate remediation from low level radioactive waste.

Nitrate is the second largest contaminant of agriculture soil after pesticides. It also is a major pollutant from nuclear and metallurgical operations. Conventional methods for nitrate removal suffers from high cost and complexity leaving bioremediation as a viable alternative strategy. A pilot plant of 2.5 m(3)/day capacity has been functioning since 2005 based on microbial consortia treating actual effluent from nuclear power plant having pH of 7-8.5 (optimum) with N:C ratio of 1:1.7. The maximum biodegradable nitrate concentration of 3000 ppm could be reduced to below permissible limit (44.2 ppm) within 24 h in presence of sodium acetate as carbon source. Culture independent analysis (16S rDNA based) revealed clones having closest identity with uncultured bacterium, Pseudomonas stutzeri and Azoarcus sp. The existence of dissimilatory pathway of nitrate reduction in the community DNA is indicated by presence of nirS and nirK gene. Though the microbial mass was developed using municipal sewage, absence of Mycobacterium sp was confirmed using PCR. The understanding of the molecular identification of the consortium would help in developing the preservation strategy of the microbial mass for replication and perpetuation of the system.

Draft Genome Sequence of Ammonia-Producing Aeromonas sp. MDS8 Strain MCC2167 from Sludge of a Dairy Effluent Treatment Plant.

The draft genome sequence of an amylase-, protease-, lipase-, oxidase-, and catalase-producing Gram-negative bacillus (Aeromonas sp. MDS8 strain MCC2167) with the ability to produce ammonia during 16 h of growth at 37°C, isolated from dairy sludge, with a size of 4,841,753 bp and a G+C content of 63.1%, is reported here.

Draft Genome Sequence of Ammonia-Producing Acinetobacter sp. Strain MCC2139 from Dairy Effluent.

We report the draft genome sequence of an ammonia-producing, esculin-hydrolyzing, catalase-positive, gram-negative bacterium, Acinetobacter sp. strain MCC2139. This bacterium, isolated from dairy sludge and with optimum growth at 37°C, has a genome size of 2,967,280 bp with a G+C content of 42.3%.

Draft Genome Sequence of a Phosphate-Accumulating Bacillus sp., WBUNB004.

The draft genome sequence of a nitrate- and phosphate-removing, Gram-positive Bacillus sp. with optimum growth at 37°C and pH 7 in nitrate broth (HiMedia M439) isolated from rhizosphere of a water lily, with a genome size of 5,465,157 bp and a G+C content of 35.0%, is reported here.

Draft Genome Sequence of a Nitrate- and Phosphate-Removing Bacillus sp., WBUNB009.

The draft genome sequence (5,868,741 bp) of a nitrate- and phosphate-removing Bacillus sp., WBUNB009, isolated from a raw sewage canal in nitrate broth (Himedia M439) with a G+C content of 34.9% is reported. It removes 60.23% nitrate and 96% phosphate within 16 h at 37°C.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Nitrate- and Phosphate-Accumulating Bacillus sp. Strain MCC0008.

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the nitrate- and phosphate-accumulating Bacillus sp. strain MCC0008, isolated from a consortium enriched from municipal sewage in nitrate broth (HiMedia M439). The total size of the genome is 5,609,456 bp, with a G+C content of 35.1%.

Effect of heavy ion irradiation on DNA DSB repair in Methanosarcina barkeri.

Archaea are expected to be highly repair proficient since they survived the vicious onslaught of radiation damage at the time of their early appearance. The DNA double strand break repairing ability of mesophilic archaea Methanosarcina barkeri (DSM 804) was studied using (7)Li, (12)C and (16)O heavy ions and compared with that of (60)Co gamma-rays. They can repair double strand breaks and, as in eukaryotes, the nature as well as extent of induction and its subsequent repair were dependent on the linear energy transfer of the radiation source.